Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-12-10
WOOD RIVER.
THE MOST IMPORTANT MINING
DISTRICT IN THE NORTHWEST.
A Country of Silver s-Peculiariiies
Of Mining-Character of Ores and Ex.
pense of Transporting and Working

pense Of Transporting and Working
Them.
| I Written for The Oregonian by Herbert Lang
Member of the American Institute of
Mining Engineersl
According to the most recent SEIZED
ule of rates accessible to the public,
the tariff on ores from Wood River
railway points to Denver, Omaha, or
Pueblo is $50 per ton, and to Sal,
Lake SIS. Whether freight rates are
as extortionate in proportion as the
milling charges | do not know, but
have no reason to doubt it, since SO
eminent collection of finauciers as
compose the Union Pacific Railway
Company would hardly allow them
selves to be surpassed in such mat
ter. | do not feel sure, notwithstand
ing the most diligent Inquiry, that the
railway and smelling charges given
above are invariably or even most
generally adhered to. l hear of a
combined" charge to one individual
of S34 and of $40 to another, while a
report some time since was to the
effect that a large shipper paid a
"combined" tariff-that is, the united
charges for shipping and smelting-of
s2o per ton. | dare say that $50 is
at least a fair average of what the
Wood River ores have to pay. This
sum, it will be noted, is exactly one
fifth of what | have estimated--per-
haps on insufficient evidence-as the
! average value of those ores. Sellers
of ore have also to meet the ordinary
charges for sampling, which are $3.50
per ton for the halfsample, and 81
for the full sample, while the neces-
sary check assays on a consignment
cost Sc, All the charges, some of
which, as pointed out, take the form
of deductions in the price obtained,
are made upon the ore after it is re-
ceived at the sampling works. Pre-
vious charges are the cost of extrac-
ton and hauling 70 the sampling
works. The former charge l can say
nothing about, as it depends upon IN
known aud constantly varying cir
cumstances. 1t is, however, uncom-
monty high in general. Hauling Tor
packing is also in most cases high
expense, owing to the fact that most
OF the claims worked are at a consid-
cradle distance from the railway, and
accessible sometimes by wagon road,
and sometimes only by trails. In the
forIner case the transporting is done
by heavy freightlng wagons drawn by
long mule teams, comprising usually
from 10 to ii animals, which can pull
An enormous load. A good many
mines are accessible only by trails,
and ore must necessarily be packed
on animals, oftentimes for considera-
BILE distances. Mules are in use for
this also, and long strings of them
under guidance OF their vigliant arr-
ero may be seen on their way. |
may remark that the eastern smelters
usually pay for 95 per cent. of the
silver contents, and 80 per cent Of tie
lead. The deductions of and 10
per cent. espectively, are for Gloss in
smelting," a generally fictitious matter
as regards the silver, as | expect to
show hereafter.
1t goes without saying that every
inhabitant of Wood River, excepting
of course the railroad employees, thinks
and says that the above charges Oh
ore are extortionate beyond all reason,
and that in order to preserve the pros
perity of the country they ought to be
decreased Some maintain that the
decrease ought to be one-half the
present charges. AS to the justice of
their complaints know only this
that the smelling charges on Wood
River ores give the proprietors of the
Omaha and Denver works profit of
at least SO per ton in all cases, and
whenever lead ores are more particu-
larly in demand to "carry through"
dry ores from other localities, the III,
direct profit resulting might easily be
IS to $40 more. AS things are con-
Quoted in those great works, where
there are always kept on hand great
quantities of ores for the purpose of
furnishing profitable smelling mix
lures, and where the science of smelt-
ing is carried SO far, ! do not imagine
that a single ton of Wood River con
centrates is ever smelted at "A less
profit, under the present tariff, than
SO. can see large profits in many
cases in smelling such ores for moth
ing and paying full prices for the con-
tents. OF course these remarks do
rot apply to works that by reason of
lack of "dry" ores are compelled to
snelt the galena by itself. In this
case there may be considerable loss
at $l5 per ton. The Kotchum smelter
belongs to this class, and while their
nominal charge for smelling is under
stood to be over $50, they surely can
not make much money, on account of
the excessive cost Of materials.
REDUCTION WORKS.
II Il i